In a column that largely praised CAPP’s latest progress report for its Responsible Canadian Energy program I noted the small decline in direct GHG emissions from 2010 to 2011 had followed a sharp increase in emissions reported by its members the previous year.
There was a major reason, left unsaid, why CAPP’s GHG numbers jumped disproportionately from 2009 to 2010; Husky Energy returned to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers after it had left the industry association for two years.
Husky is a major oilsands producer and the majority owner of the White Rose oil project offshore Newfoundland. Its return to CAPP included 6.3 million tonnes of GHGs to CAPP’s total of 88.1 million in 2010 that were not part of the accounting the previous year. Otherwise, direct GHG emissions from CAPP members rose by about 5 million tonnes in 2010 before declining by about 500,000 tonnes in 2011.
The more than 100 companies that are members of CAPP account for about 90 per cent of the oil and gas produced in Canada. The lobby group is widely considered to speak for “the industry” but its worth recalling most of its statistics represent only its membership. Its stats from 2010 forward simply provide a more complete picture of the industry.